The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for dimensionally sorting a group of received articles, and using the determined different sizes for differentiation during the subsequent processing and handling of the articles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system of sorting articles, where the nature of the articles is such that the articles, by their nature, have inherent size and shape differences, like fruits and vegetables.
There are several types of items/articles, which traditionally come in varying non-standard shapes and sizes. Included among these types of articles are most types of fruits and vegetables, as well as other types of articles which are generally grown and/or are produced by nature. However articles which come in varying non-standard shapes and sizes are not limited to only those items which are produced by nature, but also can occur in items which are largely man-made. For example hand-made articles, especially articles made using less sophisticated manufacturing techniques, can also exhibit the same differences or non-uniformities in both shape and size.
Individual items within groups of articles, which have varying shapes and sizes, can sometimes require special packaging and/or handling as a result of their specific size and shape. For example, specific machine tooling or processing technique may be limited to or better suited for use with items having a size or shape, which falls into a particular range.
While in some instances the reasons for sorting the articles may be for purposes of managing the physical demands associated with the subsequent handling of the article, in other instances the reasons for sorting the articles may be strictly for purposes of satisfying customer preferences. For example, in some instances, it may be desirable to group items having like size and shape together, so as to provide the customer with multiple items which are more uniform in nature, especially where product uniformity is either desirable or important. In a somewhat related instance a customer may be willing to pay a premium for articles which exceed or fall within a particular size and shape criteria, thereby creating an economic advantage for segregating and/or sorting the articles within a group.
Apples are a good example of one type of article, which by its nature inherently has varying shapes and sizes, for which it may be beneficial to sort based upon their size and shape. Where an apple is being sold for direct consumption by the consumer, the consumers preference may be for apples which are larger in size. When the same type of apple is sold for use by a food processing company the size and shape of the article may be relatively less important. This may especially be the case for a food processing company, where the subsequent processed form is generally independent of the articles"" original size and shape. One such example may be a food processing company which produces apple sauce.
However bigger may not always be better. For example, there may be a market for smaller bite size tomatoes for use in salads, which could similarly be sorted to insure size conformance that is consistent with consumer demand.
Several prior systems have been used to dimensionally sort articles into groups, which vary as to size and shape. One such example includes systems which use holes in screened beds, which allow certain smaller sized articles to pass through, while blocking certain larger sized articles. However the holes in the screened beds are limited in accuracy and are not easily adjustable, when size requirements change. These systems further experience limitations in the amount of product which may be processed in a given square area, and in a given amount of time.
Further prior systems have used sensors, which determine the product density and water content as the product passes underneath the sensors. However these systems generally do not determine the size or shape of the product.
Still further, machine vision systems for determining relative dimensioning have been previously used. But the computational processing and analysis time required by the machine vision systems have generally placed significant limitations on the production volumes which are achievable for these types of systems. This is especially true when systems make use of machine vision data which distinguish between several different grey-scale levels.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide a method and a system for dimensionally differentiating between a plurality of articles of varying sizes and shapes, which can be performed with enhanced accuracy and in a relatively small amount of time. It would be further beneficial to provide a method and system, where the same system can be readily adjusted so as to detect between different varying sizes and shapes, and/or adjusted to accommodate different types of articles.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of this invention are evident from the following description of a preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The present invention provides a method for dimensionally sorting a plurality of articles received as a group, each article having varying size and shape. The method comprises the articles being conveyed along a path. The articles are then singulated into one or more single file rows, as the articles traverse the path. The dimensional characteristics of the articles are then detected by detecting the deflection of one or more sensor heads which passively interfere with the progress of each of the articles, as the articles are conveyed. The articles are then differentiated between a plurality of respective size/shape groupings, based upon the detected dimensional characteristics.
In at least one further embodiment, differentiation of the articles between a plurality of respective size/shape groupings includes storing data associated with the detected dimensional characteristics for each of the articles. In some instances the data stored represents decision data for use in the subsequent processing of the article. In other instances the data stored represents data descriptive of the determined physical dimensional characteristics.
The present invention further provides a system for dimensionally sorting a plurality of received articles, each article having a varying size and shape. The system includes a conveyor having one or more paths along which the articles are formed and transported in single file rows. One or more sensor heads are positioned at one or more points along the one or more paths of the conveyor. Each sensor head includes a contact shaft which passively engages the articles and deflects an amount corresponding to the size/shape of the article passing in proximity thereto. A processing unit receives the sensor head readings and makes a determination of the size/shape of the articles and produces output data for later differentiation of the articles.
In at least one embodiment, the system further includes a memory for storing data corresponding to the determined size/shape characteristics of each of the articles. In some instances the data is representative of the physical characteristics. In other instances the data is representative of decision data to be used to determine or control the subsequent processing of the article.
In a further embodiment, the system includes a sorter for diverting the articles into one of a plurality of size/shape groupings based upon the determined size/shape characteristics of the article.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.